“Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now.” – Airplanes B.O.B featuring Hayley Williams

This musical line doesn’t really need to exist for people who live or vacation on a lake, especially a Great Lake. Having vacationed in the thumb of Michigan on Lake Huron, and even lived there for a summer, I’ve had an abundance of stars – both in the sky and reflecting on the water so that when you swim at night, you are an astronaut. Not to mention all those satellites. And those airplanes. It’s the trifecta place for wishes.

And we lakers have another thing for making wishes – one that boaters particularly like and rely on – Lighthouses. Their lights spin across the dark lake, acting as a navigational guide and a symbol of hope for boaters lost at sea or about to run into low coral reef. Who says you need a shooting star in the sky, when you’ve got a shooting ray of light across the lake?

When I was offered the chance to go inside a lighthouse, I couldn’t turn it down. After all, touring a lighthouse that’s 2 miles out in the water isn’t always an option – not everyone has luxuries of boats or jetskis, or the arm power for a kayak. (Although you can use your legs – no, not for swimming– in the winter and hike to the lighthouse, but that’s a different point.)

There was only one catch to my trip: It wasn’t visit for entertainment. I had to volunteer and help restore the lighthouse. 

While the house might not look very big, it has three levels of bedrooms alone leading up to the optical room. Although it is missing a bathroom, so don’t make your stay too long - just yet.

The kitchen now hosts a guest book for all the volunteers who pass through and the other room is storage area for tools and equipment for restoring the lighthouse. Recently, cameras have been installed in the lighthouse to track vandals that sneak their way up.

Going up the narrow stairwell, we were closely attacked by pigeons that had flown in and couldn’t figure their way out. After I saw them flying, I gladly showed them the way…. By running down all the stairs and out the doors.

And of course,

Standing 75 feet above water, you could see for miles, including freighters traveling up to Lake Superior and some sort of boat race. And then there’s down below, where you can see just how shallow parts of Lake Huron are – we’re talking maybe 5 feet deep right around the lighthouse.

The next time you need a wish, think about making it on a lighthouse. 

Brianna Krueger is the Chief Editor for Wandering Educators